Funny to think that no one was interested in the relaunch of the Huarache in 2010, so we Trojan Horsed a FREE pack. In a big corporation you still have to operate within budgets when the system doesn’t believe in or have room for concepts that don’t fit.
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For years retro product at Nike was limited to what a few folks wanted. I remember the first time I saw the Huarache, Kevin Myles was wearing it like it was nothing. I flipped. I needed a pair but couldn’t afford them.
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In 2010 Huarache wasn’t on the agenda, but FREE was. The cost of new tooling and displacing other models in the line were dealbreakers. Mark Dolce wanted to do Basketball (20th Anniversary of the Fab Five) so I slid the project onto Kasey Jarvis’ FREE 5.0. New tooling would have cost $40k but there was no budget. Mind you my team spent $50k in 3D printing that year but different budgets exist for good reasons. I needed the Huarache to exist to make room for other new projects (also, that nobody asked for) because it freed up designers’ time to explore new ideas.
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Eventually the potato head hit the market and folks immediately wanted the OG. Path of least resistance.
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I don’t think many folks up top noticed those subtle moves because I wasn’t a squeaky wheel. I never begged or yelled. Drama isn’t my style. I just looked for open doors. Eventually I saw that there wouldn’t be any more open doors for me without becoming someone I’m not. So I checked out.
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Fortunately there were people out there who appreciated my way of working. They let me explore ideas without 50 page presentations or 8 hour renderings.
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I’m an engineer. Camouflage cargos instead of khakis but the vibe is the same. Drama doesn’t interest me. Big meetings don’t thrill me.
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But I have a responsibility to make way for folks like me that want the opportunity but lack the luck that I made for myself. The information that I stumbled into while I was searching for the paths of least resistance should be simple to find. Be water.
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I have a small team building and doing. We are for hire as much as we are for self. We will share as much as we are allowed. We will create as much as we think is needed.
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For money. Or for free.